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Kelly Clarkson (Season 1)
The poster child for "American Idol" success, Kelly Clarkson has had a great post-Idol run. Kelly's notched a few platinum albums, scored some hit songs and put together a rather handsome trophy case.
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Ruben Studdard (Season 2)
In 2015, Ruben Studdard's name is more likely to pop up as answer at a pub trivia night than on a Top 40 playlist, but in 2003 we couldn't get enough of "The Velvet Teddy Bear". Ruben defeated Clay Aiken to win the title (although Clay won the album sales war) and had a major hit on his hands with the debut album Soulful. Sales have declined since the Idol afterglow, with Ruben's 2014' album "Unconditional Love" selling at a fairly humble pace. Ruben would return to reality TV in the '10s as a contestant on "The Biggest Loser".
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Fantasia Barrino (Season 3)
Fantasia Barrino may not be the most celebrated season 3 alum (that honour goes to Jennifer Hudson), but she still holds a special place in "American Idol" history as the singer who captured the crown in 2004. Fantasia has had a relatively solid recording career, but her most high profile gig of late was a two season deep reality show on VH1 called "Fantasia for Real".
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Carrie Underwood (Season 4)
Carrie Underwood beat out folks like Bo Bice, Anthony Fedorov and Constantine Maroulis to win the title of "American Idol" in 2005. We think it's pretty safe to say that America made the right call. Carrie's been a country megastar ever since her win, racking up platinum albums, crossover hit singles and boatloads of awards.
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Taylor Hicks (Season 5)
Soul Patrol members, report in. Taylor Hicks was the "American Idol" champ for season 5, winning over viewers with his brand of "blues rock soul" vocals, beating out contestants Katherine McPhee (currently appearing on "Scorpion"), Kellie Pickler (country chart fixture) and Chris Daughtry (lead singer of arena rockers Daughtry) among others. Hicks had a splash of popularity after his "Idol" win, but his follow up was met with anemic sales figures. In 2012, Hicks popped up on a different sort of television program: Hicks appeared as an entertainer at the Republican National Convention.
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Jordin Sparks (Season 6)
If you put the box office disappointment of "Sparkle" aside, Jordin Sparks has had a pretty good career after winning season 6 of "American Idol". Sparks has sold over a million albums, scored a major hit in the form of "No Air" and tends to pop up at 78 per cent of all major sporting events to do the national anthem. Blake Lewis, Melinda Doolittle and Sanjaya Malakar were among the contestants that Sparks beat out to win the title.
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David Cook (Season 7)
Season 7 was the season that gave the world David Cook. Cook defeated David Archuleta that year and knocked out an eponymous platinum album in the post-"Idol" afterglow. The follow-up, "This Loud Morning", didn't sell quite as well, racking up about a tenth of the units that David Cook moved.
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Kris Allen (Season 8)
Adam Lambert was arguably the more memorable season 8 contestant, but it was a guitar toting singer from Arkansas that won the "Idol" crown in 2009. Allen's knocked out three albums after "American Idol": a self-titled effort in 2009, 2012's "Thank You Camellia", followed by the full-length "Horizons". Only the post-crown release can boast notable sales.
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Lee DeWyze (Season 9)
Lee DeWyze beat out Crystal Bowersox, Casey James and the "Pants on the Ground" guy in 2010, to win the title of "American Idol". Sales for DeWyze's post-Idol effort, "Live It Up", were borderline disastrous by "Idol" winner standards. (The album only moved about 150 000 units.) The latest album to arrive from DeWyze is 2013's "Frames", a release that debuted with a meagre 3,000 units moved in its opening week. In cheerier DeWyze news, the singer's "Blackbird Song" grabbed some attention and downloads when it was featured on an episode of "The Walking Dead".
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Scotty McCreery (Season 10)
Season 10: Season of The Smirk. Some viewers swooned over Scott McCreery's smirk. Other viewers hated it. Either way, the country singer from the Tar Heel State was smiling all the way to the finish as he became the show's tenth winner. McCreery's post-"Idol" career has gotten off to quite the start, with the singer's debut album (Clear as Day) going platinum and the following year's Christmas album (Christmas with Scotty McCreery) netting gold status. McCreery's sophomore album, See You Tonight, also performed strongly hitting the #1 position on the Country Album chart.
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Phillip Phillips (Season 11)
Phillip Phillips has exited the honeymoon stage of his 2012 "American Idol" win. The singer-songwriter started things off with a bang with his coronation track "Home" selling better than any other "American Idol" victory song, including Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This". Phillip Phillips made a different sort of noise when he filed a claim against the show's producers. The suit alleged that 19 Entertainment manipulated the artist into performing without compensation for sponsors, kept him out of the decision-making process for the way his work was presented and stiffed him in the royalty structure.
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Candice Glover (Season 12)
The Season 12 winner broke the stranglehold that dudes had on the "Idol" crown, becoming the first woman to win it all since 2007. Glover's story was one of perseverance. The singer previously auditioned for seasons 9 and 11 before earning a spot as a proper Idol contestant. That knack for perseverance will be needed again. After a series of delays and push backs, Glover's debut album ("Music Speaks") underwhelmed on the charts and debuted at #14.
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Caleb Johnson (Season 13)
Rawk gent Caleb Johnson emerged victorious in 2014 and the Season 13 winner didn't waste time rolling out his post-glow album. The debut effort "Testify" popped up in the summer complete with a Justin Hawkins penned coronation tune as the lead single. Sales for the album were soft at best, giving Caleb the uncomfortable distinction of having the lowest debut week (11,000 units moved and #24 on the chart) for a champ in the show's history.
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Nick Fradiani (Season 14)
Nick Fradiani, the 29-year-old one-time Beach Avenue frontman squeaked past early favourite Clark Beckham to win the title for Season 14. Fradiani is now a part of Big Machine, the same label that Taylor Swift calls home.
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Trent Harmon (Season 15)
The winner of season 15, Trent Harmon took the "Idol" crown in a star-studded Fox finale that included appearances by President Barack Obama, past winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, and original judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
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